Tamil Nadu, Chennai - 282 people screened at chikungunya camp

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Tamil Nadu, Chennai - 282 people screened at chikungunya camp
http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/16/stories/2006091619280400.htm
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CHENNAI :

Residents close to the Nanmangalam Lake on the southern suburbs of Chennai are angst-ridden that chikungunya has made them down.

A large number of them were anxious to know whether they were really affected by the fever, symptoms of which they did not know.

At a camp organised by the Kancheepuram north unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu Mission Hospital, Tambaram, at Nanmangalam near here on Thursday, more than 150 people have arrived with severe fever, body ache and knee joint pains.

According to the organisers, 282 people were screened at the camp and four of them got admitted for treatment in Hindu Mission Hospital. Doctors said that the patients were under observation and would be discharged after a thorough investigation and treatment.

Kancheepuram district BJP president V. R. Sivaraman, inaugurated the camp.

S. Selvarani, ward councillor of Nanmangalam panchayat and also coordinator at the camp, said that these residents were poor tribals belonging to the `soothsayer' sect and could not afford hospitalisation.

The doctors explained to them about the symptoms of chikungunya and asked them to keep the environs clean.

Many residents complained of mosquitoes hovering around and swooping down on them. One woman resident asked for a free treatment for those affected by fever, though it may not be chikungunya.
She was running temperature for more than three days.

 

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Re: Tamil Nadu, Chennai - Cleaning Cooum to check chikungunya

Re: Tamil Nadu, Chennai - Cleaning Cooum to check chikungunya

Tamil Nadu, Chennai - Cleaning Cooum to check chikungunya
http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/16/stories/2006091618670300.htm

Desilting will increase the flow of the river, wash away mosquito larvae

Chennai: The Public Works Department is removing sand bars at the river Cooum mouth to unclog the stagnant waterway that has turned a breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread chikungunya.

Earthmovers were deployed this week to desilt the point where the Cooum joins the sea. This will increase the flow of the river, thus washing away mosquito larvae, officials say.

Areas with waterways coursing through them were the most-affected by chikungunya as the Aedes mosquito, the vector carrying the chikungunya virus, breeds in stagnant water. Corporation Health officials said zones 1, 2 and 3 (North Chennai) were severely affected. Perambur, Royapuram, Park Town and Choolai fall in these zones.

Chennai Corporation health officials said mosquito numbers would definitely come down when the water flow improved. The mouth of the Adyar in Foreshore Estate would also be widened, an official said.

The role of the public in vector control is just as crucial, said Corporation Commissioner M. P. Vijayakumar.

Stagnant water in tanks, air conditioner ducts, utensils, coconut shells and abandoned tyres could help larvae thrive.

These have to be cleaned or safely disposed of to prevent their growth.

Treatment costs

Chikungunya patients, troubled by severe joint pains, headache and itching, have often had to spend large sums of money for treatment. The Chennai Corporation has urged patients with these symptoms to take treatment from public hospitals.

Its health department has prescribed a combination of drugs and five days of complete rest to fight the disease.

Children below 10 years should be referred to medical officers of the nearest Corporation dispensary, health post or government hospital. Free treatment and medication can also be taken during awareness camps in each zone. The public can contact the helpline 25912686 (Communicable Diseases Hospital, Tondiarpet) for assistance.

 

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Re: Tamil Nadu, Chennai - Children to spread awareness of chikungunya

Re: Tamil Nadu, Chennai - Children to spread awareness of chikungunya

Tamil Nadu, Chennai - Children to spread awareness of chikungunya
http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/16/stories/2006091610200100.htm

CHENNAI:

Do not be surprised if a solemn group of schoolchildren knock at your doors and offer to give you information on chikungunya.

They would only be the Chennai Corporation's `health ambassadors,' an initiative launched to control the spread of the debilitating disease.

About three lakh students from both Corporation and private schools will be given identity cards that say, `I am the Health Ambassador for my house/street'.

"There are 60 lakh houses in Chennai. The student health ambassadors can easily cover all of them," said P. Kugananthan, Health Officer in Charge, Chennai Corporation.

The `ambassadors' would urge people to avail treatment from Corporation and government hospitals.

The Corporation is sending a circular to government and private hospitals recommending the line of (five-day) treatment comprising doses of diclofenac sodium (50 mg twice daily) to control joint pain; paracetamol (500 mg four times daily) for the fever; chlorpheniramine maleate (4 mg twice daily) to relieve itching; chloroquine (150 mg once daily) and antacid (one tablet three times) to help with gastritis.